Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Masood Azhar and Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed were declared as individual terrorists by the government under the new anti-terror law, PTI reported. The decision came a month afer the Parliament passed the amendments to The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act of 1967.
Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim were also delared as terrorists under the new law, according to ANI.
“And whereas, the central government believes that Maulana Masood Azhar is involved in terrorism and Maulana Masood Azhar is to be notified as a terrorist under the said Act,” a notification by the Ministry of Home Affairs said. In another similar notification for Saeed, the ministry said: “...the central government believes that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is involved in terrorism and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is to be notified as a terrorist under the said Act.”
On August 2, the Rajya Sabha passed the amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Previously, the law allowed the government to proscribe terrorist organisations, but the amendment allowed the government to also declare individuals as terrorists and empowers more officers of the National Investigation Agency to investigate cases.
The United Nations designated Azhar a global terrorist in May, which came with travel bans, a freeze on assets and an embargo on acquiring arms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had then termed it a big victory in the fight against terrorism while the Ministry of External Affairs said it was a step in the right direction “to demonstrate the international community’s resolve to fight against terrorism and its enablers”.
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